From: Kevin Kenny
Subject: Re: Ir-D Psychological Distress

Pauric,

I'm aware of these three rather obscure but interesting
studies from the 1950s:

Opler, Marvin K. "The Influence of Ethnic and Class
Subcultures on Child Care." Social Problems, 3 (July 1955):
12-21.

Opler, Marvin K. "Cultural Differences in Mental Disorders:
An Italian and Irish Contrast in the Schizophrenias."
In Marvin K Opler, ed., Culture and Mental Health:
Cross-Cultural Studies. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1959.

Opler, Marvin K. and Jerome L. Singer. "Ethnic Differences
in Behavior and Psychopathology: Italian and Irish."
International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2 (Summer
1956): 11-23.

[I had just mentioned these sources to Michael J. Curran in
a previous message without naming them. So, Michael, here
they are.]

If there are indeed a number of "more obvious
references" available from previous exchanges on the
Ir-D list, would someone be willing to share these with me?

Thanks.


----------------------
Kevin Kenny
Department of History, Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Phone(617)552-1196; Fax(617)552-3714; kennyka[at]bc.edu
www2.bc.edu/~kennyka/

From:
Guillermo MacLoughlin
"Cristina Manzano"
Subject: RE: Ir-D Encyclopaedia of Ireland

Dear Paddy,

Congratulations on your new task. As you know there is much to be done
regarding the I-D worldwide.

If you think I could be of any assitance to you, please do not hesitate in
contacting me.

Best regards,

Guillermo MacLoughlin
- ----------
> De: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
> A: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
> Asunto: Ir-D Encyclopaedia of Ireland
> Fecha: jueves, abril 20, 2000 06:54
>
>
>
> >From Email Patrick O'Sullivan
>
> I would like members of the Irish-Diaspora list to know that I have
agreed to act as
> Consultant Editor, Irish Diaspora, for the new Encyclopaedia of Ireland,
to be published
> by Gill & Macmillan, publishers, Dublin.
>
> I was very much in two minds about taking on this task - it is a lot of
work, yet, in the
> end, what can be accomplished may be quite small and limited.
>
> The background to the approach to us, here in Bradford, is that the
Editor of the
> Encyclopaedia, Brian Lalor, did a thorough trawl through existing Irish
works of
> reference. And he and the publishers were alarmed to observe how few
items fell within
> the category 'Irish Diaspora'. Explanations for this pattern are quite
simple. Existing
> Irish works of reference tend to ignore the Irish Diaspora. And,
further, many items will
> have Irish Diaspora resonances or contexts, which tend to be ignored within
Ireland.
>
> In the end I felt that we cannot go on complaining that Irish works of
reference ignore
> the Irish Diaspora, and at the same time refuse to get involved in
projects like this.
> The clincher was a lengthy meeting with the Editor, Brian Lalor - who
seems like the sort
> of person who gets things done.
>
> My thanks to all those who sent me words of encouragement, as I mulled
this over. As
> ever, special thanks are due to Kerby Miller, who, as ever, acted with
kindness and
> courtesy.
>
> We have been approached comparatively late in the development of this
Encyclopaedia, and I
> am now working hard to help our bit catch up with others. We have that
special problem of
> overlap, mentioned above - so that I do need to track what the other
Consultant Editors
> are doing.
>
> I do not want to dilute the general usefulness, and business, of the
Irish-Diaspora list.
> But, without making this a formal Irish-Diaspora list project, I would
like to feel able
> to turn to the Ir-D list for advice and support during the coming months.
I would like to
> feel that all of you, and your networks, are behind this. I suppose that
the
> Encyclopaedia of Ireland might be useful to you, in making your own
scholarship and
> projects more visible.
>
> I genuinely would like to hear from anyone who has ideas about approach
and subject
> matter. Email me personally at
> Email Patrick O'Sullivan
> I am still at the stage of thinking through what can be done, within - it
must be
> stressed - very severe limitations. From time to time I will report on
progress, problems
> and successes, to the Irish-Diaspora list.
>
> Patrick O'Sullivan
>
> --
> Patrick O'Sullivan
> Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit
> Email Patrick O'Sullivan
> Irish-Diaspora list
> Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/
>
> Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
> Fax International +44 870 284 1580
>
> Irish Diaspora Research Unit
> Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
> University of Bradford
> Bradford BD7 1DP
> Yorkshire
> England
>

From Patrick O'Sullivan

It has been a quiet week on the Irish-Diaspora list...

Here in Britain the Easter holiday and the May Day holiday have found themselves close
together. Generally, throughout the world, many people seem to be away from their desks,
and computers.

Things will get busier next week, no doubt.

P.O'S.




- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
Fax International +44 870 284 1580

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From Patrick O'Sullivan

Forwarded with permission from...

IEB: BookView Ireland - April, 2000

THE STORY OF A TOILER'S LIFE by JAMES MULLIN
- - This is a remarkable life story, taking us from a life of poverty in
Co. Tyrone in the Famine years to the travels of a successful doctor
who has made his home in Wales. First published a year after the
author's death in 1920, it forms part of the "Classics of Irish
History" series and includes Mullin's views on a number of major
characters whom he met through his political associations, including
Michael Davitt, Charles Stewart Parnell and Padraig Pearse. However
he had first to overcome his humble origins to acquire an education,
a process greatly helped by the encouragement and self-sacrifice of
his mother, and his own love of reading. Despite having left formal
education at the age of eleven he continued reading anything he could
find, even losing one job for reading when he was supposed to be
working. His interests included the study of Latin and Greek, and his
mother persuaded him to return to school, Cookstown Academy, when he
was 22 years of age, from where he made his way to the Queen's
University in Galway. Despite many setbacks, and with a great deal
of hard work, he managed to acquire a medical degree, and much of the
narrative is taken up with an account of the different practices in
which he worked, mostly in Wales. At this point the determination
shown by James Mullin in his childhood and youth takes on a hint of
arrogance as he describes the people whom he has to treat, but this
may be due to the system prevalent at the time, whereby a doctor was
put on contract by the mine owners and was duty bound to treat the
miners when requested, a privilege the miners often abused. His
involvement in politics began with membership of the Fenians as a
young man, followed by a long period when he eschewed all political
groups. However the violent anti-Irish reaction in Britain to the
Phoenix Park murders prompted his return to the political arena and
it was his long association with the United Irish League in Cardiff
which brought him into contact with Davitt, Parnell and Pearse. For
the latter two he gave only a qualified admiration, but was a devoted
supporter of Davitt, whose death he described as "the greatest loss
that Ireland sustained in the nineteenth century".

"A Toiler's Life" is very much the story of one man, his marriage is
covered in just a few lines, there is one mention of a daughter and
one of grandchildren, but for the most part Mullin seems to have
followed his own path. His extensive travels, whether hiking in the
British Isles, sailing to the Mediterranean or to Jamaica, only once
seem to have included his wife, though in fairness many of the
voyages were working holidays when he took the role of ship's
surgeon. The book gives us, however, a fascinating and wide-ranging
insight into the 19th century world from a man who had known both
poverty and comparative wealth.
(UCD Press, ISBN 1-900621-40-1, pp235, IR13.95)

I AM ALONE by WALTER MACKEN
- - This second novel by author and playwright Walter Macken had the
distinction of being banned in his native country when it was first
published in 1948, whether for the suggestion of pre-marital sex or
its IRA subplot I'm not entirely sure. Set in London just before the
outbreak of the Second World War, the book tells the story of one
Galwayman's experiences when he leaves home for the bright lights and
building sites of England. Patrick Moore's first digs, with a
relative, prove rather more eventful than he had imagined and he
becomes caught up in the drama even when he has moved on. His
encounters with English women allow him to learn the hard way that
beauty is only skin deep, but he eventually makes the right choice
and all seems well as he settles into married life with Maureen and a
job selling insurance. However a chance meeting with an old school
friend, Jojo, reveals the underside of life for the Irish in Britain,
the world of explosives and bombings, of being on the run and
escaping home to Ireland. The climax brings together the two strands
of Patrick's English experience, with a police chase closely followed
by a dash to the maternity hospital. The loneliness alluded to in
the title is variously felt by all three of the principal characters,
Patrick, Maureen and Jojo and each, in his or her own way, comes to
see that the feelings of loneliness will be finite. Interestingly
the descriptions of Patrick's life on the road as an insurance agent
are reminiscent of those described by George Orwell in "Coming up for
Air", with both authors suggesting the rather dubious morality of the
insurance world in England between the wars. The atmosphere of
pre-war Britain, with the war clouds gathering, is well captured, and
indeed the author lived in London for a short time during this
period. I was mildly surprised, however, to find a television set
featuring in a public house visited by Patrick and Lelia.

"I Am Alone" is, in some ways, the story of the hundreds and
thousands of young Irish people who have emigrated to Britain and who
move from fear and loneliness to an acceptance of and by the people
of their adopted country. But it is also the story of one man's
determination to lead an "ordinary" life despite meeting with some
extraordinary circumstances.
(Brandon, ISBN 0-86322-266-8, pp270, IR12.99)


REBELS by PETER DE ROSA
- - Reissued ten years after it was first published, this account of the
1916 Rising comprises a wealth of detail which the author has
fashioned into a historical novel. De Rosa has dealt with elements of
the story not usually included, such as the voyage of the Aud from
Germany via the Arctic circle to Tralee Bay. This long and dangerous
journey we see through the eyes of the ship's captain, Karl Spindler,
bringing home to us his confusion and frustration at the failure of
the Irish to make contact in Tralee. The drawing together of the
American and German threads in the years leading up to the Rising,
through the work of John Devoy and Roger Casement, is well
documented. An interesting development was the attempt to fire Irish
prisoners of war in Germany with an enthusiasm for fighting with
their captors against the English in Ireland, though the attempt was
doomed to failure.

With the capture of the Aud, the scene of action moves to Dublin
where the members of the Military Council have to counter Eoin
MacNeill's opposition to an armed rebellion, an opposition which,
despite an ingenious plan prepared by Joseph Plunkett, eventually
leaves insurgents around the country in disarray and unable to
support their Dublin comrades. In the anecdotal style adopted by de
Rosa the events of Easter week are given an immediacy rarely found in
books on this subject, and the characters, whether major or minor,
are brought vividly to life. Acts of both barbarism and kindness are
highlighted, and the reaction to the bloodshed and the effect on the
citizens of Dublin are well illustrated. The description of the final
days of each of the rebels executed, and their last meetings with
their families, is particularly poignant, and the whole provides
evidence of an enormous and painstaking research project. I had
difficulty with the authenticity of some of the dialogue,
particularly the way in which the author attempted to render
phonetically the accent of Countess Markievicz, but that is a minor
quibble about an informative and entertaining web of fact and
fiction. (Poolbeg, ISBN 1-84223-001-8, pp536, IR7.99)

NATIONAL QUESTIONS ed. R.V.COMERFORD AND ENDA DELANEY
- - These seven essays arose from a series of talks given at a conference
held in Maynooth to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Daniel
O'Connell. Subtitled "Reflections on Daniel O'Connell and
Contemporary Ireland", each contribution takes as its basis some
aspect of the life and experience of the Liberator. Thus in
considering the place of broadcasting in Ireland today, Farrel
Corcoran, Professor of Communications at DCU, looks briefly at the
situation extant in the 19th century, and prides a neat link between
O'Connell's monster meeting on the Hill of Tara, and the emergence of
Radio Tara and Tara Television to serve Irish people living in
Britain. Miriam Hederman O'Brien considers Ireland's contribution to
Europe, having first established O'Connell's credentials as a true
European, and Maurice O'Connell cites the Liberator's founding of the
National Bank in 1834 as a precursor to a look at our financial
institutions. Other contributions come from H.C.G. Matthew,
Professor of Modern History at Oxford; Maynooth's Professor of
Education John Coolahan; Queen's lecturer Enda Delaney; Eda Sagarra,
Professor of Germanic Studies at Trinity; and Joseph Liechty of the
Irish School of Ecumenics.
(Wolfhound Press, ISBN 0-86327-813-2, pp109, IR15.99)

PRINCES OF IRELAND, PLANTERS OF MARYLAND by RONALD HOFFMAN
- - Ronald Hoffman, who takes pains to record the fact that the book was
written in collaboration with Sally D. Mason, has produced a study of
three generations of the O'Carroll/Carroll family from the time that
Charles Carroll the Settler left the Irish midlands for Maryland with
the ambition to rebuild the family fortune and make good the loss of
much of his land in Ireland, though he and his heirs found that their
Catholic religion was just as much a hindrance to advancement in the
New World as it had been in the Old. However both he and his son,
known as Charles Carroll of Annapolis, increased the family fortune,
primarily through the acquisition of property. The son, an astute
businessman with a determination to remain independent, was the only
surviving member of his family. He took on the responsibility of his
brother's children and subsequently became embroiled in a legal
quarrel with family members. His only son, known as Charles Carroll
of Carrollton, was almost 20 years of age before his parents
eventually married, a highly unusual arrangement for 18th century
Maryland. Charles Carroll III had been sent to school in Europe but,
despite the distance between them, his father guided every aspect of
his life. After 16 years abroad he came home to Maryland and became
involved in political life, leading to his becoming a signatory of
the Declaration of Independence, the only Catholic to do so. The
story of these three men is brought to life by the wealth of detail
amassed by the author, in particular the domestic details of family
life. All three made interesting marriages and the story of Molly,
wife of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, is a saga of multiple
pregnancies, infant deaths and drug-taking. Charles himself lived to
the age of 95, and through his involvement in the Declaration of
Independence "this descendant of a long line of Irish rebels became a
full-fledged member of America's Revolutionary elite".
(University of North Carolina Press, ISBN 0-8078-2556-5,
pp429, IR29.95)

IRISH WINNERS OF THE VICTORIA CROSS by RICHARD DOHERTY & DAVID TRUESDALE
- - Detailed research has led the authors of this book to suppose that
the generally accepted total of 166 Irish people awarded the highest
medal for bravery may be an underestimate, if all those born to Irish
parents living overseas are taken into account. There are also a
small number whose names would suggest an Irish background but, with
no documentary evidence, they have not been included in the total.
The book is divided chronologically from the Crimea to the Second
World War, and begins with the first presentation of the award by
Queen Victoria in Hyde Park in 1857 during which two Irishmen, Lt
Charles Davis Lucas of the Royal Navy and Ensign Luke O'Connor of the
23rd Regiment were among those rewarded for gallantry. Details are
given of the particular acts of courage for which the award was
given, though in the earlier conflicts these are not extensive. One
World War I recipient from the North misconstrued the words of praise
from King George V, "You're a brave man", at the presentation of his
medal, and replied, "You're a brave wee man yourself, Sir". Another
soldier, James Duffy from near Letterkenny, met with some difficulty
as a result of his award, being kidnapped by the IRA in the early
'20s and receiving threatening letters on other occasions. The book,
which includes a number of photographs of the holders of the Victoria
Cross, has a final section listing Irishmen whose nominations for the
award were rejected, and an index of all Irish recipients.
(Four Courts Press, ISBN 1-85182-442-1, pp272, IR12.50)

INTERTWINED ROOTS by W.A. HANNA
- - "An Ulster-Scot Perspective" examines the roots of division in the
North as they affect the situation in the 21st century. Having first
given the background to the arrival of the Ulster-Scots in Ireland,
the difficulties they faced and the significant emigration to the US
from the 17th century, the author turns his attention to the
different sections of the unionist population of the north and the
political and religious views by which they live. Following this,
and forming the major part of the narrative, is a description of the
events leading to the Good Friday Agreement, and the subsequent
failure to follow through to lasting peace. Hanna gives us his view
of what has led to the current uncertainty, and concludes that
without decommissioning the North cannot move forward to total peace.
(Columba Press, ISBN 1-85607-290-8, pp192, IR8.99)

THE WORLD OF HIBERNIA, SPRING 2000
- - The latest edition of this magazine, aimed at the Irish diaspora,
features the Corrs on the cover and includes an article on the family
group. Other stories featured include a guide to Irish websites, the
Leixlip Castle home of Desmond Guinness, the Clare-born inventor of
the submarine, John Holland, and one American-based McDermott's quest
for her family roots in the Roscommon/Sligo area.
(hibernia[at]interport.net)

From Patrick O'Sullivan

Our thanks to Dan Cassidy for bringing this item to our attention...

P.O'S.


>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM UNITY RECORDS:
>
>April 25, 2000
>
>Contact: Russell Smith at (212) 460-5518 or Eamonn Dornan at (212)
>780-1946
>
>BROOKLYN RAPPER SUES BBC
>
>Brooklyn rapper and Irish-American hip-hop artist Chris Byrne, familiar
>to Irish music fans as Seanchai (pronounced shan-a-kee), and as a
>founder of the Irish musical group, Black 47, has brought a multimillion
>dollar legal action in the Federal District Court in Manhattan against
>the British Broadcasting Corporation, in what promises to be a
>controversial lawsuit.
>
>The action arises from a BBC "Spotlight" documentary about an alleged
>Florida-based IRA gun-running operation. In its program, the BBC
>misappropriated Byrne's copyrighted musical recording, "Fenians,"
>without license or permission. But the
>issues go much deeper than standard copyright infringement. By taking
>Byrne?s instantly recognizable voice and musical work, the BBC has
>caused Byrne to be unwillingly associated with a British media company,
>and an anti-Irish message, both of which
>Byrne has long opposed.
>
>According to Byrne, he is just the latest casualty in the BBC's long
>propaganda war against those who oppose British policy in the North of
>Ireland. This particular battle, however, will be fought in an American
>courtroom, and it is one that Byrne is
>determined to win.
>
>The offending broadcast was originally aired on BBC Northern Ireland on
>October 5, 1999. The program purported to show that the alleged
>gunrunning activities of a group of Irish nationals in Florida were
>proof that the current IRA cease-fire was bogus in nature. Broadcast at
>a time when extremely delicate peace talks were under way, the program?s
>content bolstered the demands of pro-British politicians that Irish
>Republicans be excluded from those negotiations.
>
>Byrne's music was synchronized over a series of images of New York
>landmarks with a view to enhancing the show's composition and message.
>Byrne says, "The BBC stole both my work and my reputation to service
>their theory that Irish Republicans are fundamentally dishonest. My work
>has always had at its core the belief that the Irish people have the
>right to self-determination and independence from British interference.
>The BBC is a government controlled institution that supports the aims
>and interests of the British state, including its undemocratic control
>over the North of Ireland. The BBC would not have had a snowball?s
>chance in hell of getting a license from me, even if they had the
>decency to goabout it legally. My political beliefs are central to who I
>am, and the BBC's theft of my work for the purposes of anti-Irish
>disinformation is a grave infringement of my artistic rights."
>
>The BBC prides itself on its purported image as a broadcaster which
>adheres to the values of "impartiality, objectivity and balance." Not
>according to Byrne. Byrne's legal action will set out to prove his and
>his audience's opinion that the BBC are part
>and parcel of the apparatus of British misrule in Ireland. Among the
>allegations in his legal action are that:
>
>* The BBC regularly supports British government policy that is fighting
>"not just a military war but a propaganda war" in the North of Ireland.
>
>* The BBC consciously ignored Catholic Nationalist grievances throughout
>the conflict in the north of Ireland, including the torture of internees
>and other British army brutalities.
>
>* The BBC lied to the world about the British Army's murder of thirteen
>unarmed Irish civilians on what has become known as "Bloody Sunday."
>
>* The BBC has censored countless programs which challenge British policy
>in the North of Ireland, and even banned the song "Give Ireland Back to
>the Irish" by former Beatle, Paul McCartney.
>
>* The BBC continues to present a one-sided view of the conflict, heavily
>biased against Irish republicans.
>
>Byrne will also show that his antipathy for the BBC and his diametric
>opposition to its viewpoints are a matter of public record. By way of
>example, in the popular "Black 47" song, "Time To Go," ("Home of the
>Brave"-- EMI records) written by Byrne, he
>specifically denounces the BBC for peddling anti-Irish views. Indeed,
>the song "Fenians," which is at the heart of the lawsuit, alludes to the
>British media's demonization of Irish republicans.
>
>By associating Byrne with its message, the BBC has placed Byrne in a
>position of having to defend his character and integrity. "After
>everything I've stood for, after all the benefits and the protests, it
>now appears to my compatriots and my fans that Seanchai has sold out.
>There is none so low in the opinion of Irish republicans as he who takes
>the sovereign coin to betray his people. The damage done to my
>reputation is incalculable."
>
>Byrne's lawsuit has echos of a similar case in which Chuck D of "Public
>Enemy" brought an action against the G. Heileman Brewing Company, after
>a few seconds of his voice had been used without permission in
>advertisements promoting malt liquor, despite the rapper's public
>opposition to the marketing and promotion of that product among
>African-American youth. Chuck D was able to obtain a seven-figure
>settlement precisely because of the virtually certain prospect of a
>massive jury verdict similar to the one which could be expected in
>Byrne's case against the BBC.
>
>Like Chuck D, Byrne has steadfastly refused to allow material associated
>with him to be used in ways that are not consistent with his public
>reputation. For example, he vetoed a lucrative Black 47 tour sponsorship
>offer from Reebok, the shoe manufacturing giant, solely on the basis
>that Reebok's corporate logo includes the Union Jack, a symbol
>considered offensive by Irish republicans and nationalists.
>
>One of Byrne's lawyers, Russell Smith, who handled the Chuck D case, is
>confident of victory for Byrne. "The BBC?s copyright infringement could
>not be more clear," said Smith. "On top of that, the BBC's false
>association of its message with our client
>adds insult to injury."
>
>With the BBC forced to defend on American soil not just its unlawful
>appropriation of Byrne's work, but its very mission and conduct
>throughout 30 years of conflict in the North of Ireland, this
>undoubtedly will be a closely-watched legal battle.
>
>For a copy of Byrne?s complaint, or for further information, please
>contact Russell Smith at (212) 460-5518, or another of Byrne?s
>attorneys, Eamonn Dornan, at (212) 780-1946, or visit Seanchai's website
>at www.seanchai.com
>

From Patrick O'Sullivan


The following book reviews will be of interest to Ir-D list members...

1.
Reviewed for H-SHEAR by Howard B. Rock
Jamie L. Bronstein. _Land Reform and Working Class Experience in
Britain and the United States, 1800-1862_. Palo Alto: Stanford
University Press, 1999. x + 372 pp. Index. $55.00 (cloth), ISBN
0-8047-3451-8.
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=202956170085

Bronstein looks at the influence of the Chartists, led by the 'quixotic' Fergus O'Connor,
in Britain, on George Henry Evans, and his National Reform movement in the USA.

2.
Reviewed for H-Albion by Myron C. Noonkester
Colin Kidd. _British Identities Before Nationalism: Ethnicity and
Nationhood in the Atlantic World, 1600-1800_. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1999. viii + 302 pp. Notes and index.
$59.95 (cloth), ISBN 0-521-62403-7.
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=17962955997576

Colin Kidd is the 'New British History' in action - 'His prior work, Subverting Scotland's
Past (1993), sought to remove eighteenth century identity construction from a predictably
nationalist milieu. In the stimulating British Identities, he revises and extends his
scholarly project by examining roles played by ethnic identities in shaping
pre-nationalist, pre-racialist, but not quite pre-imperialist British consciousness...'


- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
Fax International +44 870 284 1580

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From Patrick O'Sullivan

I'd like to keep this theme going - until people do get back to their desks and computers.
At the same time I do not want to pre-empt discussion...

A number of us are interested in the theme, and here in Bradford Pat Bracken is planning a
research project. We hope to advertise for a researcher soon.

A co-written article will soon appear in Irish Studies Review: Patrick Bracken & Patrick
O?Sullivan, ? ?Not taken at a glance?: the invisibility of Irish migrants in British
health research.?

Meanwhile I am collecting the material for a research and literature review, looking at
themes, preoccupations and assumptions - not only within Britain but throughout the Irish
Diaspora.

I would like to hear from anybody who has lists and material to contribute to that
review - though I think I am already in touch with most of you.

Ideally - if we can get the funds - we'd like to bring together a Research Seminar, and
really try to make visible some of the underlying assumptions.

Without pre-empting discussion...

It is extraordinary how much influence Nancy Scheper-Hughes still has on this discussion.
Sometimes the influence is very deep and hidden - and that influence is in itself yet
another Irish Diaspora Studies example of how cross-disciplinary influences work. So that
medical researchers will call in aid a very suspect piece of anthropology - which itself
continues a pattern of seeking very complex cultural explanations of Irish 'difference'.
(The book is Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Saints, Scholars and Schizophrenics - Mental Illness in
Rural Ireland, 1979, 1982. The 1982 U of California Press edition is the one with the
apologetic, puzzled Preface...)

Everyone should read the George A. Birmingham short story, 'A Lunatic at Large' - it's in
Lady Bountiful, and a number of anthologies. An eye-opener. Funny. But alarming.

P.O'S.


- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
[mailto:owner-irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk]On Behalf Of
irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
Sent: 21 April 2000 09:35
To: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
Subject: Ir-D Psychological Distress



From: Pauric.Travers[at]spd.ie
Subject: Psychological Distress among Emigrants

A colleague of mine (Mairin Nic Eoin) is seeking references to studies of
mental health of Irish emigrants: she is familiar with "White skins,
white masks: psychological distress among the Irish in Britain" by Liam
Greenslade in Patrick O'Sullivan (ed.) The Irish in the New Communities?
and the material referred to there. She is looking for some
supplementary material for a paper she preparing on the theme of
cultural displacement in recent work by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, and would
like to allude to any relevant work on the trauma of exile in the context
of the experiences of the Irish diaspora. I know there was a long-running
exchange in the Irish Diaspora network in this general area and have
passed on some some of the more obvious references.Are there any recent
general summaries for someone whose interest is literary rather than
historical.

**************************************************************
St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, Ireland
(A College of Dublin City University)
Telephone +353-1-8842000 Fax +353-1-8376197

http://www.spd.dcu.ie

Colaiste Phadraigh, Droim Conrach, Baile Atha Cliath 9, Eire
(Colaiste de chuid Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Atha Cliath)
Fon +353-1-8842000 Feacs +353-1-8376197
**************************************************************

From: "Elizabeth Malcolm"
Subject: Psychological distress

Paddy,

I was struck by your reference to George Birmingham's short story 'A
Lunatic at Large'. I only came across it last year, but I'm using it at the
moment in an article I'm writing on Irish asylums for an international
collection on the development of asylums/mental hospitals in various
countries during the 19th and 20th centuries.

I found it an extremely interesting story. Of course it's essentially
humorous, but nevertheless it makes a number of important and astute
points about the committal process in turn-of-the-century Ireland, about
attitudes to asylums and about medical theories concerning the apparent
high rates of mental illness among the Irish.

For those who don't know the story, it's about a young English dispensary
doctor in Connacht who is startled at the number of people he is asked to
certify for committal. This leads him to ponder the high rates of mental
illness in the west of Ireland and to conclude, after considering a number
of theories, that this is due to 'race decadence' . The story focuses on
one instance in which he is asked to certify a young labourer. The young
man himself is perfectly willing to go to the asylum for a short period, as
are his family, and the police are especially insistent. But the doctor,
while detecting 'mentally deficiency', is convinced that the boy is not a
violent lunatic - which would guarantee automatic committal under Irish
legislation. In the denouement it is revealed that the community are
anxious to retain the services of the doctor, so the police have been
'scouring the country...for anyone, man or woman, that was the least bit
queer in the head'. The doctor is paid a guinea by the government for each
committal certificate he signs, so it is thought locally that if income can
be generated by means of asylum committal then the doctor will stay. The
police and the locals are bewildered when the doctor refuses to certify in
a number of cases and they conclude that the 'English is a queer people'.

I don't know what literary critics think of this story, as I've seen no
commentaries upon it, but it seemed to me that the obvious message was that
the Irish, despite high levels of asylum committal and elaborate theories
of race decay, were in fact far more shrewd than the 'queer' English.

But aside from that, the story raises a number of interesting issues
regarding the committal process. What interests me is the major role of the
family and of the police in committal and the minor role of the medical
profession. I'm also struck by the rather positive attitude to the asylum:
a short period there seems to carry absolutely no sigma either for the
individual or for the family. Related to this is the acceptance of the
asylum as a useful local institution that can be manipulated for various
purposes. However, in contrast, is the English doctor's alarm at the high
level of asylum admission rates and his resort to sweeping, eugenicist
theories to explain this phenomenon.

So it's a story about committal to Irish asylums that operates on two
totally different levels: the down-to -earth local and very pragmatic, and
the high-powered medical and very theoretical. In considering high
committal rates in Ireland - and indeed among the Irish abroad - both
perspectives need to be addressed. In the past the theoretical and medical
view has tended to dominate.

I don't know what Mr Birmingham, or more correctly the Rev. Hannay, knew
about asylum committal, but I do think that in this story he touches upon
key issues in the whole difficult and complex debate about mental illness
in modern Ireland.

Elizabeth Malcolm
Liverpool

From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Irish in Philadelphia


A version of Dale Light's message, below, appeared on the H-Ethnic list. It will be of
interest to the Irish-Diaspora list, as a reminder of Hershberg's work. Plus we might be
able to help with Dale Light's further research...

P.O'S.


[Dale Light writes:]

I have an interest in Irish economic mobility. In fact, I am
currently writing a book on Philadelphia's Irish community in the
nineteenth century.

Many years ago, when I was associated with Ted Hershberg's Philadelphia
Social History Project at Penn,we collected occupational, residential,
family status, and other data on every Irish-born resident of the city
between 1850 and 1910, and a one in ten sample of second-generation Irish.
>From this we were able to reconstruct in some detail the contours of social
advancement for the Irish immigrant population and their immediate
descendants. Some of the data, as well as comparable information on other
ethnic/racial groups is presented in Hershberg's PHILADELPHIA (Oxford,
1981?). His bibliography contains references to other publications by the
project's associates that bears on the problem of immigrant mobility.

Hershberg's raw data are still preserved at the Van Pelt Library at Penn.
Unfortunately, the computer tapes are no longer readable and the
information on them has been lost. Hard copy printouts, however, are still
there and can be viewed. I would suggest, though, that anyone interested in
using them contact one of the former associates of the PSHP, because some
of the codes are pretty obscure.

Prof. Anbinder might want to look at my dissertation, "Class, Ethnicity,
and the Urban Ecology: Philadelphia's Irish, 1830-1880" (University of
Pennsylvania, 1979). I included several charts on property holding,
occupational change, and the like over time, some of it for individuals
linked from one census record to another. My good data started in 1850
though, and might not interest him.

One of my primary arguments in the dissertation, which I am reprising in my
next book, is that occupational stability, rather than mobility, was of
paramount importance to Irish immigrants. Residential stability was a
prerequisite for participation in a wide range of status-conferring
community organizations, and a steady source of income was necessary for
effective planning and allocation of resources that allowed immigrants to
conform to standards of respectable conduct. Both of these to a large
extent depended on occupational stability. I argue therefore that, rather
than measuring the movement of migrants from one occupational category to
another, we should appreciate the benefits that flowed from occupational
stability and recognize that achievement of relatively stable employment
was far more important for most immigrants than movement up or down the
occupational ladder.

I have only recently returned to the field of immigration history after
several years laboring in the vineyards of religious history. Much has
changed in the past two decades and I am in the process of reacquainting
myself with a voluminous literature. Hence, my participation in this group.

I would welcome any suggestions regarding Irish mobility [and community formation] in the
middle decades of the nineteenth
century.

Sincerely,

Dale Light
DBL1[at]psu.edu

William Berthomiere, of the University of Poitiers, has brought this Call for Paperts to
our attention...

P.O'S.

- -----Original Message-----
From: william berthomiere
[william.berthomiere[at]mshs.univ-poitiers.fr]
Sent: 01 May 2000 18:09
To: p.osullivan[at]Bradford.ac.uk
Subject:


Just a short message for give you the internet address of the call for
papers for our conference "2000 Years of Diasporas" that we organize in
October 23-25th at Jerusalem.

http://www.mshs.univ-poitiers.fr/migrinter/diaspora.htm

Your sincerely,
William Berthomiere
William BERTHOMIERE
Membre de MIGRINTER (UMR 6588 CNRS)
Maison des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Sociét
99, Av. du Recteur Pineau
86000 Poitiers
FRANCE
Tel. (0)5.49.52.04.77
Fax. (0)5.49.45.46.45

Page personnelle:
http://www.mshs.univ-poitiers.fr/migrinter/membres/berthomi.htm
Notre site/Our website: http://www.mshs.univ-poitiers.fr/migrinter/

From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Dymphna=20Lonergan?=
Subject: Re: Ir-D Psychological Distress

A couple of things come to mind regarding the Irish
use of institutions. Firstly the revelations some
years ago of women who were committed to asylums
because they were pregnant or were in undesireable
relationships, or just downright difficult (The Late
late Show covered some of this). On a minor basis my
own childhood recolleciton of mother's threats to send
us to 'Artane' when we were 'bold'. Artane was an
industrial school a long way away from our home. We
believed, however, that our mother could and would
send us there. Finally is there a connection between
the age of the parents and the fact that a young
person might be committed ie older parents finding it
more difficult to cope

Dymphna Lonergan
The Flinders University of South Australia
Dymphna_1[at]yahoo.com

From: Patrick O'Sullivan

This request for information seems to connect with recent Ir-D list discussion.

Can we help?

P.O'S.


- -----Original Message-----

Patrick O'Sullivan,

As a new student of Irish history I apologize for asking a question I
should research myself but am hoping that you can suggest a direction. In
seeking to understand the paths that my great great grandparents took when
they came to America sometime in the 1840s or 1850s I discovered a fairly
extensive effort on the part of the Catholic Church to assist Irish,
Catholic and Slovenian Catholics to settle in areas in the west where land
was plentiful and extremely cheap. This helps me understand how they
might have come to Omaha, Nebraska, a city which was founded only in 1855,
and in which they arrived in 1855 or 1856.

Father Caspar's History of the Catholic Church in Nebraska describes the
efforts made by some of the priests who actually went back to large
eastern cities to recruit and assist the Irish Catholics in their move to
the west. Many of these church fathers were Irish or had studied in
Ireland or with other Irish priests.

I am wondering if this effort began in Ireland before they left and if the
Church was giving them direction about where to go once they arrived in
Canada or the US.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions you might offer.

Sincerely yours,

jrj


Judith Rice-Jones, MA, MLIS jricejones[at]uccs.edu
Social Sciences Librarian 719 262-3175
University of Colorado Fax 719 528-5227
P.O. Box 7150 "Unless we change the direction we are
Colorado Springs, CO going, we may end up where we are
80933-7150 headed." Chinese proverb

From: DanCas1[at]aol.com
Subject: Free passes: Finnegan's Awake:Festival of Irish Writers-

Hello All:

I have a small number of FREE PASSES for Irish Studies students and friends
for the FINNEGAN'S AWAKE: FESTIVAL OF IRISH WRITERS
at Golden Gate Auditorium, 565 Mission Street, S.F.
for programs on

Friday, May 5th, 7:00 PM
Readings by: Colm Toibin, Mary O'Malley, Jennifer Johnston, Paul Durcan
Intro. Colum Mc Cann

Saturday, May 6th, 2:00 PM
Readings by:Eamon Grenan, Dennis O'Driscoll, Desmond O'Grady
and Antonia Logue. Intro. Theo Dorgan

Sat., May 6th, 7:00 PM
Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, Ronan Bennett, Ciaran Carson,
Katie Donovan, Colum Mc Cann. Intro. Glenn Patterson

Sunday, May 7th, 2:00 PM
Readings by: Michael Longley, Paula Meehan, Theo Dorgan,
Glenn Patterson. Intro. Katie Donovan

Sun. May 7th, 7:00 PM
Readings by: Eavan Boland, Dermot Healy, Medbh McGuckian, Mary Morrisy,
and Paul Mudoon. Intro. by Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill

THIS IS FIRST COME or e-mail FIRST SERVE. IT SHOULD BE AN INCREDIBLE WEEKEND!

DC


Daniel Cassidy
Director
The Irish Studies Program
An Leann Eireannach
New College of California
San Francisco
415-241-1302,x714

From Patrick O'Sullivan

We have received, from a number of directions, information about Thoemmes Press - the
message which I have pasted in below gives the basic information.

Thoemmes Press are publishing collections of primary source material, in multi-volume
sets. There are collections of Contemporary Observations on Ireland, and on the Catholic
Question, and collections of Irish literary journals. Forthcoming collections include
matter on the debate leading to the Act of Union, the collected writings of Michael Davitt
(edited by Carla King) and the pamphlets of Isacc Butt (edited by Alan O'Day).

The prices asked for these collections, as ever, make the blood run cold and the heart
flutter. But this Thoemmes Press initiative will interest people who are in the happy
position of having funds to develop research in Irish Studies and Irish Diaspora Studies.

As for the rest of us... Thoemmes Press have declared the intention to make full lists of
contents available on their Web site, PLUS the scholarly introductions to the collections.
Now this potentially is a very useful, readily available resource.

P.O'S.


>From: Charlie Blacklock
>
>Thoemmes Press is pleased to announce the opening of our centre for Irish
>History and Culture.
>http://www.thoemmes.com/irish.htm
>
>Rediscovering Ireland's past through contemporary sources
>
>The Thoemmes Press Irish History and Culture site ? a key tool for the
>international Irish Studies community. IHC brings essential source material
>together in one coherent publishing programme to create an important
>resource for scholars across disciplines. By providing contemporary sources
>from the 17th to 20th centuries, IHC enables new readings of Ireland's
>history and culture. New collections of carefully-selected and often rare
>and inaccessible texts cover areas vital to the debates. Together with new
>introductions these provide the foundations for study and insight into the
>evolution of Modern Ireland. This valuable programme is consolidated by the
>Irish Library which publishes much-needed titles long unavailable to Irish
>Studies scholars.
>
>This site is free to join. We invite you to participate in the IHC programme
>? to add to and shape our publishing, to receive news and special offers,
>and to link with other IS centres/resources.
>
>We are also happy to post announcements/events and news of interest to the
>Irish Studies Worldwide academic community from you.
>
>Your thoughts and comments about this new programme would be gratefully
>received.
>
>Charlie Blacklock
>Web/IT Manager
>
>Thoemmes Press
>11 Great George Street
>Bristol BS1 5RR England
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>tel: 0117 929 1377 fax: 0117 922 1918
>charlieb[at]thoemmes.com www.thoemmes.com
>To subscribe to our monthly newsletter please send an email with your
>name and email address to info[at]thoemmes.com
>-----------------------------------------------------------------


- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
Fax International +44 870 284 1580

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From: Mairin.NicEoin[at]spd.ie

Dear Patrick O'Sullivan,

My colleague Pauric Travers has been kind
enough to forward Ir-D messages on the subject of psychological distress to me
and I am very grateful to those members of the Ir-D network willing to share
their knowledge and references with me.

I attended a conference on the
subject of "Cultural Trauma and National Identity" last weekend in Dublin
City University, where I read a short paper entitled " "Fish out of
water" - the trauma of cultural displacement in the poetry of Nuala Ní
Dhomhnaill". The paper dealt with a series of poems which appear in the
poet's latest collection, and which employ the central plot of the folk
legend of the mermaid who comes ashore to explore various forms of social
and cultural displacement.

I attach the abstract (see below). As I intend reworking the
material into an article, I wish to include references to material which
would either support or question the insights of the poetry. The Liam
Greensdale article is an example of a socio-psychological analysis of
emigrant experience which would be very much in tune with Nuala Ní
Dhomhnaill's depiction of a displaced community. I was also interested in
Karen Corrigan's article on language shift in the same book, and in Kerby
Miller's comments on the conscious rejection of Ireland by Irish
immigrants in the United States. David Fitzpatrick, in his analysis of
emigrants' letters, however, seems to offer a much more positive reading
of Irish emigrants' ability to adapt as does much of the material
presented in Kerby Miller's Emigrants and Exiles.

My central question for
the social scientists working in the field of Irish emigration studies is
this: was psychological distress a common feature of the acculturation
process, or were those who suffered in this respect exceptions? I
recently read a fascinating book called Refugees: The Trauma of Exile
(Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht/ Boston/ London) edited by Diana
Miserez, which deals with the plight of political refugees in various
European countries. One of the articles, "Refugees and Mental Health:
South East Asian Refugees in Switzerland" by Hans-Rudolf Wicker and
Hans-Karl Schoch, offers the following insight:

' ...findings indicate that an increased susceptibility to psychological
disorders coupled with a paranoid symptomatology is not confined to
refugees alone. Forced urbanization and migration for economic reasons
have had similar effects on the populations concerned.
Therefore, the increase in reactive psychoses among migrating
populations can be said to be primarily socio-cultural rather than
political in origin. The destabilization and destruction of functional
systems that existed in the home country - such as family, village,
neighbourhood, or even pedagogiical concepts - is an inevitable
by-product of refugee movements, as well as country-city migrations, or
economic migrations leading to a socio-cultural crisis. As an individual
the refugee has to make an enormous effort to integrate into his new
surroundings - defining "integration" here primarily as reducing
structural insecurity in a new environment. As a group, the refugees have
to re-establish some kind of sicio-cultural orientation in order to find
new models for identification. Whether or not they actually succeed
remains questionable. However, it is between theses two types of friction
- individual insecurity in the new surroundings and collective
socio-cultural insecurity - that the problem of increased psychological
vulnerability must be located. '(155-6)

I would like to know if Aidan Jones' explorations of mental ill-health
among the Irish in Britain have led him to similar conclusions?

I realise that this research area is fraught with difficulties and that
we are far from any conclusive readings. Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill's poems are
an attempt to deal imaginatively with some of these difficulties - to
break the silence surrounding problems of psychological illhealth and the
price that many Irish people may have had to pay for survival in a
culturally alien environment.

Máirín Nic Eoin
**************************************************************
St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, Ireland
(A College of Dublin City University)
Telephone +353-1-8842000 Fax +353-1-8376197

http://www.spd.dcu.ie

Colaiste Phadraigh, Droim Conrach, Baile Atha Cliath 9, Eire
(Colaiste de chuid Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Atha Cliath)
Fon +353-1-8842000 Feacs +353-1-8376197
**************************************************************

ABSTRACT
' ?Fish out of water? ? the trauma of cultural displacement in the poetry of Nuala Ní
Dhomhnaill'

This paper will examine the series of poems ?Na Murúcha a Thriomaigh? (The Sea People) in
Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill?s latest poetry collection Cead Aighnis (1998). In these poems, Ní
Dhomhnaill employs the central plot of tales from the Irish oral tradition ? tales
relating to mermaids who come ashore - as metaphorical framework for explorations of
various forms of social and cultural displacement.

The poems represent a spectrum of human responses to cultural change and physical
displacement. They give expression to many of the psychological processes associated both
with acculturation and with individual and group responses to traumatic experience,
processes such as dissociation, disavowal, denial, repression and amnesia. These tales of
mermaids and sea people may be read at several levels and act as touchstones for
explorations of all kinds of cultural loss and cultural transformation. In the Irish
context one may recognise in them a whole spectrum of displaced states of mind, including
the dissociation from one?s cultural past associated with processes of modernisation, the
accommodations and transformations accompanying emigration and the outright disavowal of
some of the more unpalatable or horrific aspects of Irish socio-economic and cultural
history.

In employing metaphorical language which can equally express social processes of
acculturation and psychological processes most commonly associated with post-traumatic
stress, I will argue that Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill is presenting cultural transformation itself
as a traumatic experience, whether one is a survivor of it (as most of her Sea People are)
or not.
The poems open up new ways of approaching aspects of Irish cultural history which have
received little critical attention to date, such as the emotional and psychological effect
of language shift, the trauma of exile, and personal, family and community memories of the
famine. They do this by evoking images and employing a narrative language most often
associated with the plight of political refugees and the survivors of political terror.

Subject: Re: Ir-D Psychological Distress
From: michaeljcurran

Hi Patrick
Just reading a chapter of yours today in "The Irish in Britain" - (Swift and
Gilley 1989). Interesting article for my work by Colin G. Pooley in same
publication.

Looking for further information on the Irish Studies Review article you
mentioned earlier this week and on where I might access reference: "A
Lunatic at Large"

Appreciated the Ir-D list email from Mairin Nic Eoin in St. Pat's Dublin. I think this
inter-disciplinary approach might be the way forward in studies of the
dynamic of present day Irish migration.
Best wishes
Michael


Michael J. Curran
Irish Diaspora Project
Dept. of Psychology
Aras an Phiarsaigh
Trinity College
DUBLIN 2, Ireland
curranmj[at]tcd.ie
Phone: +353 1 608 1886
FAX: +353 1 671 2006, and
028 90 836042 (home)

www.tcd.ie/Psychology/Michael_Curran/diaspora.html

From Patrick O'Sullivan


For those who like to track world-wide Irish Studies and Irish Diaspora Studies, here is
the Programme/Program for the coming Canadian Association for Irish Studies Conference,
later this month, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada...

Best wishes to CAIS for a happy and successful Conference. It looks very good...

P.O'S.


From Jean Talman
Subject: CAIS Conference Program - Edmonton May 24-27

Following is the program for our upcoming conference. If you have any
questions, you can contact the convenor, Jerry White, at
gswhite[at]gpu.srv.ualberta.ca

Program for the Canadian Association for Irish Studies, Conference 2000
25-27 May, University of Alberta
[Everything still just shy of final until we go to the printers]

All sessions held in Humanities Centre 2-12, unless otherwise noted

Wednesday, 24 May.

8pm-ish: Informal Sherry & Crackers get-together for the Early Birds.
Home of Heather Zwicker, 9542 - 100 Street. Heather lives close to but
not really in walking distance of the University, at 9542 - 100 Street.
It should be a $5-7 cab ride from the University, and I would be happy
to drive two or three people over in my truck. Please let's coordinate
by email.

Thursday, 25 May.

10am-11:30am: Irish Drama
Chair: Ron Ayling (U of Alberta)
Maureen Hawkins (U of Lethbridge): ?Twisted: Male Bonding,
Metatheatricality and Mobius Structure in Waiting For Godot, Observe the
Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, and M. Butterfly)?
Ninian Mellamphy (U of Western Ontario): ?Looking at Philadelphia From
Ballybeg and Foxrock and Mrs. Rooney?s Railway Station: Gestures Towards
Internationalism in Recent Irish Drama?
Bill Kerr (U of Alberta): ?Stanislavsky and Brecht in Brian Friel?s
Freedom of the City and Making History?

11:30am-1pm: Lunch

1pm-2:30pm: International Resonances
Chair: Heather Zwicker (U of Alberta)
Craig Monk (U of Lethbridge): ?Just Mix Up A Mixture of the
Theologoicophilological: Approaches to Teaching the Outsider in Ulysses?

Peter McAuley (U of Minnesota): ?Rethinking Internationalism in the Era
of the Peace Process?
Joseph Coroniti (Berklee College of Music): ?Teaching Irish Studies in
the US, Norway and England?
Maryna Romanets (U of Saskatchewan): ?Symbolic Lineages in Nuala Ní
Dhomhnaill?s and Lina Kostenko?s Poetry?

2:30pm-3pm: Coffee Break

3pm-4:30pm: Opening Keynote Address (Co-sponsored with the Canadian
Association for the Study of Commonwealth Languages and Literatures), IN
HUMANITIES CENTRE L-3
Margo Harkin (Bensom Productions, Derry): ?Film making in Northern
Ireland?

7pm-9pm: Screening of films by Margo Harkin (Co-sponsored with the Film
Studies Association of Canada). A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES (1999),
SETTING THE STAGE (1999), 12 DAYS IN JULY (1999). IN HUMANITIES CENTRE
L-4

Friday, 26 May

9am-10:30am: Contested Communities
Chair: George Casey (Memorial U of Newfoundland)
Kathryn Conrad (U of Kansas): ?Domestic Queers: Home and Nation in
Irish Queer Politics?
Noel Gilzean and J.W. McAuley (both U of Huddersfield):
?Colonial/Post-colonial Identities and a Diasporic Community: The Irish
in Huddersfield?
David Wilson (U of Toronto): ?The Caldwell Family: A Case Study in
Ulster-American Radicalism, 1791-1815?

10:30am-11am: Coffee Break

11am-12:30pm: Plenary Address
Pádraig Ó Siadhail (St. Mary?s U): ?Contemporary Literature in Irish: A
Parasite's Delight?

12:30pm-1:45pm: Lunch

1:45pm-3:15pm: Comparative Celtic Literature (Co-sponsored with the
Canadian Comparative Literature Association)
Chair: Jerry Varsava (U of Alberta)
John Donahue (Champlain College): ?Dancing at Lughnasa and La Casa de
Bernarda Alba.?
Michael O'Hara (New College of California): ?The Crozier and the Pen:
Literacy, Textuality and Religious Conversion in Early Medieval
Ireland.?
Lisa Fitzpatrick (U of Toronto): ?Wole Soyinka?s The Strong Breed and
Tom McIntyre?s Sheep?s Milk on the Boil"

3:15pm-4pm: Coffee Break

4pm-5:30pm: Panel Discussion: Contemporary Irish Film
Moderator: Jerry White (U of Alberta)
Brian McIlroy (U of British Columbia)
Bob Quinn (Cinegael Productions, Conamara)
Margo Harkin (Bensom Productions, Derry)

7pm-9pm: From Alberta to Conamara via Newfoundland: Films by Bob Quinn
and Colin Low. POÍTIN (Quinn, 1977), SELF-PORTRAIT WITH RED CAR (Quinn,
1978), and THE WINDS OF FOGO (Low/NFB, 1969). IN HUMANITIES CENTRE L-4.

Saturday, 27 May

9am-10:30am: Ireland on the Screen
Chair: TBD / KC
Dian Killian (Case Western Reserve): ?Virtual Ireland: Electronic
Representations of the Nation In Exile?
Brian McIlroy (U of British Columbia): ?Irish, British, American: The
Three Faces of Neil Jordan?
Len Falkenstein (U of New Brunswick): ?Celluloid Transformations,
Celluloid Irishness: The Field and Dancing at Lughnasa?

10:30am-11am: Coffee Break

11am-12:30pm: Ireland in Theory
Chair: Cecil Houston (U of Toronto)
Robert Brazeau (U of Alberta): ?The Postnational Body: Thomas
Kinsella?s ?Local? Knowledge?
Duncan Greenlaw (U of Alberta): ?Late Yeats and Beckett in Mourning?
Alison Muri (U of Saskatchewan): ?The Mechanical Operation of the
Spirit: Swift and Cyborgs?

12.30-2pm: Lunch


2pm-3:30pm: Closing Keynote Address
Bob Quinn (Cinegael Productions, Conamara): ?Filming in/and Ireland.?

3:30pm-4pm: Coffee Break

4pm-6pm: Annual General Meeting

7pm- we all get tired: Banquet
Dinner at the banquet room in St. Joseph?s College (Just across from
the athletic facilities)
Following dinner, Calgary playwright Sandra Dempsey will present her
one-woman play about D?Arcy McGee, ?D?Arcy.?

From Patrick O'Sullivan

Here is the detailed information on Lance Pettitt's forthcoming book...

P.O'S.

Screening Ireland
Film and television representation
Lance Pettitt

Manchestyer University Press
June 2000 234x156mm 344pp
50 b&w illustrations
0-7190-5269-6 hardback £45.00
0-7190-5270-X paperback £14.99

'Pettit's book provides a lucid narrative that is both original and comprehensive. This
book will quickly become an essential tool for anybody interested in exploring the
representation of Ireland on film.' Robert Savage, Boston College.

Screening Ireland examines a century of screen representations of Ireland from a cultural
studies perspective. Skillfully analysing historical and contemporary examples from both
film and television, this innovative book provides a clear, theoretically-informed
synthesis of the most influential research on Irish audio- visual culture in the last
decade.

The opening chapters discuss the pertinent features of Irish history and analyse critical
debates about Ireland's cultural development in the twentieth century, favouring and
exploring postcolonial interpretations. Part II opens with a concise history of television
in Ireland, from its radio precedents to a consideration of its global satellite future
and goes on to discuss chat shows and soaps, sit corns, documentaries and dramas of the
troubles.

Featuring key bullet-pointed header questions and relevant statistical data, Screening
Ireland is aimed at students of Irish Studies, Film and Cultural Studies. It will also be
of interest to serious journalists and cultural commentators on Ireland, and is also
accessible to the non-specialist reader with a keen interest in Ireland and its
representation in the media.

Publisher Information
MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR Tel: 0161 2735539 Fax: 0161
2743346 Email: mup[at]man.ac.uk Website: http://www.man.ac.uk/mup


- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
Fax International +44 870 284 1580

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From Patrick O'Sullivan

This extract from the latest BAIS Newsletter will give Ir-D list members an idea of its
contents.
Our thanks to Jerry Nolan, Editor, for sharing this with us.

I will distribute as separate Ir-D list emails some of the notices mentioned by Jerry.

The BAIS does now have a Web site contact point - though (oddly enough) this fact is not
mentioned in its Newsletter:
http://www.bathspa.ac.uk/hum/bais/index.html.

P.O'S.

British Association for Irish Studies
Newsletter 22

BAIS NEWSLETTER NO.22

Contents
Focus Interview: Kevin Haddick Flynn
Britain's Irish Travellers: A Project
Battle in the Books; Irish Cultural Theory?
Irish Studies in British Schools

EDITORIAL
As usual a few generous and well-informed contributors have made the current issue of the
Newsletter possible. I want to thank, in particular:

Kevin Haddick Flynn for an extended Focus Interview about his thought-provoking history of
Orangeism;

Colm Power for his outline of a major project on Irish Travellers in Britain on which he
is the Principal Researcher and which is being supported by the Centre for Irish Studies,
Strawberry Hill after a successful bid for National Lottery funding;

Lance Pettitt for the 2nd contribution to the new series 'Battle in the Books', which
addresses the topic of Irish Studies and Cultural Theory;

and Christy Evans, a new member of The BAIS National Council who is interested in
developing a structure for networking among British Secondary Schools who are teaching, or
about to teach, Irish Studies.

The call for Papers for the early November Conference on 'The Irish Diaspora', to be held
at APRIL 2000 UNL & BAIS Call for Papers Noticeboard BAIS National Council BAIS Membership
Application Form the Irish Studies Centre, University of North London, at which Luke
Gibbons (Dublin City University) has agreed to deliver the BAIS Millennium lecture on
Friday 10 November 2000, is a great opportunity for our members who are researching into
this rapidly expanding field of learning to propose a paper.

One of the most distinctive characteristics of BAIS is the sheer breadth of membership:
undergraduates, postgraduate researchers, university and school teachers, and generally
interested and enthusiastic writers and readers. May I remind members that the Newsletter
is here as the broadest of platforms for all to participate in the lively debates which
seem to be ongoing in the current Irish Studies scene.

Copy and/or discs {Word 6/95) with articles, reports, notices, letters etc. to be included
in Newsletter No.23 should be sent to Jerry Nolan, 8 Antrobus Road, Chiswick , London W4
5HY by July lOth 2000.

- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
Fax International +44 870 284 1580

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From Patrick O'Sullivan

Forwarded from the BAIS Newsletter...

THE IRISH DIASPORA:

WRITING * RESEARCHING * COMPARING

IRISH STUDIES CENTRE & BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF IRISH STUDIES

3- 4 NOVEMBER 2000

Invited Speakers: Hasia Diner, Luke Gibbons, David Fitzpatrick, David Lloyd, Bronwen
Walter

BAIS has joined with the Irish Studies at the University of North London to hold a
conference about
The Irish Diaspora. The aim of the conference is to assess Irish migration and diaspora
research in terms both
of its placement in wider diaspora studies and its internal rationale, processes, debates
and methods.

The recent upsurge of interest in the Irish diaspora forms part of a wider emphasis on
transnationalism and
globalization and the inter-related themes of 'race', ethnicity and migration. One
objective of this
conference is to locate the significance of Irish diaspora studies in this wider context.
Another objective is
to take stock of the current state of knowledge about the Irish diaspora and present some
of the latest
exciting research.

Possible sessions include: archives and resources for studying the Irish diaspora;
gendered diaspora
stories/histories; whiteness; social structuration and social mobility; Irish identities;
second generation;
cultural production (music, film, literature); politics in the diaspora; return migration;
social networks;
comparative perspectives; role of Irish language.

Send a paper title, plus an abstract of 300 words and your address, telephone
number, fax and email details.

THE DEADLINE FOR THE CALL FOR PAPERS IS I5 JUNE 2000

Please send your proposal to: Dr. Mary Hickrnan, Irish Studies Centre, University of
North London, 166-220 Holloway Road, London, N7 8DB fax; 020-7753-7069; email:
m.j.hickrnan[at]unl.ac.uk

You will be informed about whether your paper has been accepted by the end of
July 2000.